For example, he first mentioned 'community walking co-ordinators' on 18 August 2009, then put it in his 2010 book Littlejohn's House of Fun. They got another mention when the book was serialised in the Mail on 28 March 2010 and once again on Tuesday.

Once again on Tuesday in a column about people being paid lots of money for doing pointless jobs...

Back in 1995, former Conservative Party Chairman Brian Mawhinney regaled his Party’s Conference with a story of how taxpayer’s money was being similarly spent on hopscotch for Asian women.

In fact, it later transpired that the public money had been given to the Hopscotch Asian Women’s Centre, a well-respected voluntary organisation that deals with domestic violence, language and integration issues in Camden, which neighbours Haringey.

So could a similar misunderstanding have been made by Richard Littlejohn?

We contacted Hanringey Borough Council to ask about the mysterious job, who weren’t aware of one fitting Mr Littlejohn’s description. We’ve also tried to get in touch with Mr Littlejohn himself to find out more about how he came across this vacancy, but have yet to hear back from him.

But the Hopscotch Asian Women's Centre did advertise for a management position in May last year.

So whilst as yet we’re unable to say with complete certainty that Haringey haven’t been engaging the services of Asian hopscotch specialists, given the claim’s history and the proximity of an Asian women’s voluntary centre named Hopscotch to Haringey, you might be advised to treat this particular “non-job” with some scepticism.

Tuesday, 15 February 2011

The rabid anti-capitalist film-maker Michael Moore, director of the global warming propaganda movie Fahrenheit 9/11, is suing his backers, Bob and Harvey Weinstein, claiming they cheated him out of £1.67million in profits. And there was me thinking he did it to save the planet.

Diocesan Director of Communications, Gavin Drake, complained to the Press Complaints Commission that the newspaper had published an online article about a vicar's prosecution for downloading child pornography which was accompanied by an inaccurate comment from a reader. The reader had asserted that the Church had been aware of the vicar's crimes for years when this was not the case. The complainant contacted the website moderator with his concerns but was aggrieved that no action was taken.

Resolution:

The newspaper explained that the comment had been post-moderated and the moderator was aware of the abuse report logged by the complainant. It acknowledged that there had been a lapse in moderation on this occasion. While the complainant remained disappointed that the newspaper had not responded when he first reported the problem, the complaint was resolved when the newspaper permanently removed the comment in question.

Wednesday, 9 February 2011

Thousands of illegal immigrants will flee riot-torn Egypt and flood to Britain, the leader of Nato has warned.

Paul Robins' article continues:

Many refugees are desperate to escape and head here to milk the benefits system.

Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, 58, said the riots will fuel an “illegal migration wave” across the EU.

And the majority will head straight to Britain on the promise of free housing and better jobs.

In the first two sentences, the terms illegal immigrants and refugees are used interchangeably. And the claims about milking benefits and getting jobs and free houses are the usual inflammatory tabloid-fodder.

But did Rasmussen actually say that 'thousands of illegal immigrants' from Egypt were going to 'flood to Britain' in an 'illegal migration wave' as the Star states? Here's NATO's transcript:

Having said that, I do not consider the situation in Egypt or Tunisia, or elsewhere as a direct threat to NATO allies or the Alliance as such. But obviously the evolving situation in the Middle East and North Africa may have an impact on the Middle East peace process, and instability in the region as such may also, in a longer term perspective, have a negative impact on economy, which might lead to illegal immigration in Europe, etc. So of course indirectly there may be a negative impact on Europe caused by the evolving situation in North Africa and the Middle East. But I do not consider the situation as a direct threat to NATO.

Rasmussen didn't mention Britain. It's also clear he's not singling out Egyptians, but saying long-term instability might lead to illegal immigration from the region. He didn't mention any number. He certainly didn't make reference to benefits or jobs or houses. And he did say 'might' rather than 'will'.

So the Star have turned Rasmussen's words from this:

instability in the region...might lead to illegal immigration in Europe

Into this:

Thousands of illegal immigrants will flee riot-torn Egypt and flood to Britain

The Irish edition of the Mail on Sunday published several thousand copies today with a spoof wrap-around as if it was the Sunday Tribune, the title that went into receivership last week.

It masqueraded as the Tribune by reproducing its masthead, as the picture above illustrates. Unsurprisingly, it outraged the Tribune's editor, Nóirín Hegarty, who called it "pernicious" and "a false representation".

I speak as one of the poor suckers who was duped into buying it this morning. On the run I picked up a copy of the Sunday Business Post and the Sunday Times....I saw "The Tribune" there and thought that it must have been a creative initiative by the journalists at the paper to keep the flag flying for the next few weeks. As a friend of mine works there I picked it up.

When I got home I almost spewed when I realised the con, and let's face it that's what it was. I will never buy a copy of the Mail in any form after this, nor a single of chips that is wrapped in it. Disgusting.

UPDATE (7 Feb) - Thanks to Liz Church for highlighting the latest development on this story:

Ireland's edition of the Mail on Sunday faces prosecution over its cover that bore the masthead of the rival Sunday Tribune.

The Irish republic's National Consumer Agency confirmed it was investigating complaints against Associated Newspapers' Irish operation.

In a statement released on Monday the agency said: "Following further consideration, the National Consumer Agency is now considering a prosecution for a breach of the Consumer Protection Act. Accordingly, the agency will be making no further comment on this issue."

Thursday, 3 February 2011

Crossbow Cannibal Stephen Griffiths is being urged to make a dramatic deathbed confession.

As he enters the fourth month of a prison hunger strike, detectives are quizzing the 41-year-old monster about the disappearance of seven women – including chef Claudia Lawrence, 35, who vanished in York two years ago.

A senior police source said: “There isn’t much time left to get the truth out of him.”

He continues:

Teams of detectives have spent hours at his bedside, hoping to hear him whisper the terrible secrets of his grisly murder spree before he takes them to the grave...

Now, as he enters the fourth month of refusing to eat, police are questioning him about a string of other unsolved cases.

They include the disappearance of university chef Claudia Lawrence, 35, who vanished in York in March 2009.

So how did the local police respond to the Mirror's claim? The York Press explains:

North Yorkshire Police and West Yorkshire Police have dismissed reports as [a]"load of garbage".

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said: "This is simply not the case and whoever has provided the information is wrong.

"The reality is that neither West Yorkshire Police or North Yorkshire Police have spoken to Griffiths about the disappearance of Claudia Lawrence as he has refused to be interviewed since he was imprisoned.

"And as North Yorkshire Police has stated previously, there is no evidence to connect the two investigations together."

Some are calling it as significant as the day in 1788 that the first issue of The Times hit London's streets...

The American football coverage, ahead of this Sunday's Super Bowl, is presented brilliantly. There is a feature about what it's like to stand in the tunnel, accompanied by lovely 3D-style images.There is also a section on top plays which has video running through tactics. The prospect of using this technology with proper football is mouthwatering.

Fashion also works well, with the ability to click on outfits for a more detailed look...

The Daily runs smoothly, downloads quickly and is a promising glimpse into what the future holds.

Young women are developing premature wrinkles from staring at their smartphones all day...

Really? Who says so?

...says a top cosmetic doctor.

Ah. The article goes on to name the doctor, reveal where his clinic is, and let him get away with saying stuff like this:

"The natural tendency is to squint at the screen when reading messages and as a result some people develop this area of tightness/small frown lines between the brows, which is easily rectified with the light use of Botox by an experienced doctor."

Who could he have in mind?

There's no evidence provided, no explanation as to how he knows the wrinkles are caused by using smartphones, nor any reason given as to why this doesn't seem to affect men.

But he's backed up by a beauty therapist, who claims to have:

noticed a huge difference over the past 18 months in my clients' faces

Unsurprisingly, she recommends a slightly different treatment which she can provide.

The same 'story' then ran in the Mail and the Sun with the same terms, the same quotes and the same 'experts' - all in the same order - to describe what all the articles called a 'phenomenon'.

Tuesday, 1 February 2011

...made me a laughing stock. I earned a reputation within my community for being a fantasist and a liar, and spent the next two years learning the intricacies of the laws of defamation and in order to try and salvage what was left of my reputation.

She was forced into taking legal action when her original complaint to the Mail was met with a familiar, dismissive tone:

Obviously, I wrote to complain. They responded that they were happy the article was an accurate reflection of what I’d said and were standing by it. I wrote again, pointing out in detail the discrepancies. Again, they stood by their article and told me that they would not enter into any further correspondence with me and considered the matter closed.

I certainly didn’t consider the matter closed. My name, image and brief details of my life had been used to fabricate a story which bore no resemblance to me or my life, then presented as fact, said by me, in my own words. It was damaging to me, my children, my friends and had a significantly negative impact on my life.

It's a lengthy post but well worth reading, especially for her line-by-line breakdown of the way the article was embellished and the attitude and tactics of the Mail when challenged.